The Periodic Table is a crowning scientific achievement, "an anthropological marvel," notes science writer Sam Kean—but it's also a treasure trove of adventure, betrayal, and obsession. Here Kean regales us with delightful and intriguing tales of every element on the table, all playing out their parts in human history, and in the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.

"Fascinating. Kean has Bill Bryson's comic touch when it comes to describing genius-lunatic scientists.... The book is not so much a primer in chemistry as a lively history of the elements and the characters behind their discovery."—New Scientist

"[The author] is brimming with puckish wit, and his love for the elements is downright infectious. Kean's book is so rambunctious and so much fun, you'll find yourself wanting to grab someone just to share tidbits. But the alchemy of this book is the way Kean makes you see and experience and appreciate the world differently, with a real sense of wonder and a joy of discovery, that is downright elemental."—Boston Globe